In honor of Shelley Earp, MD
Dr. Shelley Earp has worn many hats – student, resident, physician, teacher, scientist, and administrator. Since arriving in Chapel Hill in 1966 to attend medical school at UNC, he has literally grown up with UNC’s School of Medicine, Hospital and Cancer Center.
He is now the Lineberger Professor of Cancer Research and a professor in the Departments of Medicine and Pharmacology. His laboratory has discovered and studied genes important in breast and prostate cancer and childhood leukemia. His NIH and Breast and Prostate Cancer Foundation grants have funded this work and his publications try to explain the root causes of these diseases so that they can be treated with more effective and less toxic agents.
More importantly, he is Director of the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, where he works with others across the University to enhance basic, clinical and public health cancer research and care at one of the country’s premier public universities and academic medical centers. In this role, he collaborated with UNC Deans, University officials and the NC legislature to make the NC Cancer Hospital and the University Cancer Research Fund a reality.
He’s a leader on campus and at the national level, having received UNC School of Medicine teaching awards and chaired national review committees for the American Cancer Society and the National Cancer Institute. He has served as President of the American Association of Cancer Institutes on the National Cancer Institute’s Board of Scientific advisors, and on the advisory boards of ten cancer centers.
However, what none of these impressive credentials tell you is how much Shelley Earp cares about making a difference for people with cancer, for their families, and for people who might be at risk.
All it takes to gauge the depth and breadth of his commitment is to meet with him, for just a few moments. His caring and commitment are evident and – according to his colleagues, friends and patients – inspiring.